Note: Sorry it's been so long. I've been very busy.
Chapter 9
Benson and Clark sat at Clark's desk at the San Jose Special Victims Unit section of the San Jose Police Department.
"I just got off the phone with Constance's bank," Clark said. "All of her bank accounts have been cleaned out. Did you get any signals on her computer, phone, or tablet?"
"I've already tracked her electronic products," Benson said. "The signals lead to a dump in Pennsylvania. She could be anywhere."
"Wouldn't it be simpler if they put tracking devices on cash?" Clark asked.
"We may still have hope," Benson said. "Constance's mother, Sherrie Lenso, lives in Mountain View."
"Lenso?" Clark asked.
"Her husband passed away in 2004 and she changed her name back to her maiden name," Benson explained.
"Do you want me to go to Mountain View to question Sherrie?" Clark asked
"No," Benson replied. "I will. I want you to notify Shaun and Claire about what's going on and I need you to watch after Shaun once more."
"Yes ma'am," Clark replied.
The elevator doors opened and Shaun walked into the room. Benson and Clark then walked over to Shaun.
"Shaun," Benson said. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Olivia," Shaun replied. "I wanted to tell you how glad I am that the killer has been caught. I feel safe now."
"About that," Benson said. "Shaun, you need to have a seat."
"Why?" Shaun asked in a scared tone.
Shaun, Clark, and Benson sat at Clark's desk.
"Listen, Shaun," Clark said. "We had the wrong guy. The real killer is still out there."
"You told me you did catch the killer," Shaun said. "You were wrong."
"Shaun," Benson said. "Detective Clark will continue to watch after you, and an officer will watch after Claire."
"You told me everything was fine," Shaun said. "You were wrong."
Shaun stood up and began taking deep breaths.
"Shaun?" Benson asked concerned.
"You were wrong!" Shaun shouted. "I'm still in danger! Someone wants to kill me!"
"Shaun," Clark said softly. "It's okay."
"It is not okay!" Shaun screamed. "You were wrong! You made me feel safe when I wasn't!"
Shaun began hitting his head with his hands. Everyone in the office area began staring at Shaun. Benson got up and began patting Shaun on the back.
"Shaun," Benson said. "It's okay."
Clark sprung up and pulled Benson away.
"Do not touch him," Clark said. "You don't want him to hit you. He's having a meltdown."
"Oh yeah," Benson said. "I forgot about that. It's been a while since I've dealt with someone on the autism spectrum."
Clark walked over to Shaun.
"Shaun," Clark said calmly. "Please stop hitting your head. You're going to get a headache. Please stop."
Shaun stopped hitting his head.
"Okay," Clark said calmly. "Let's calm down. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."
Shaun began breathing normally.
"Here's what we're going to do," Clark said. "I'm going to take you to your apartment."
"Okay," Shaun said. "Okay."
"You'll take a shower," Clark said. "There's nothing like a relaxing shower. Then you're going to relax and watch that awesome TV of yours."
"I only shower in the morning," Shaun said. "It's part of my morning routine."
"Sometimes it's okay to break your morning routine," Clark said.
"Sometimes I do feel less stressed when I shower," Shaun said. "I will take a shower. But not too long of one because my water bill will rise greatly."
"Okay," Clark said. "Let's go."
Shaun and Clark shared a hug.
"It's going to be okay," Clark said softly.
Shaun walked to the elevator and Benson looked at Clark.
"Shaun and I are a lot alike," Clark explained. "I have autism too. It's mild, but I've had my share of meltdowns. Shaun tragically lost his brother and became a doctor to save people's lives. I lost my brother tragically as well and I became a police officer to save people's lives."
Benson watched as Shaun and Clark entered the elevator.